Second chances are always doubtful!
by YukinoAkashi
Summary: When the seal weaken and Ruriko once again found herself to be the one who must save the world from Nyx. This time, she had the help from two other wild cards. Guess who? Of course it's Minato and Yu (P4). Sorry, I'm not good at writing summary.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first time I've ever write a fanfic so I want to know what you guys think about it. Every chapter will be very short like this one (pretty much). Hope you like it. Please review! :) Oh, and Ruriko is the name that I gave for my female protagonist. She's not an OC. Hope that no one ever write about this. If you guys found something similar please let me know. So, hope you guys enjoy it!^^

Chapter 1: The Awakening

Crack. The sound of cracking stone statue can be heard across the huge dimensional space. the only occupant of the space is a teen brunette girl. Her auburn hair flowing uneasily clamping to the humongous double doors that leads to who know what. From anyone's perspective, what lies beyond the death arcana symbol engraved door would be very malicious and dangerous, that 'it' should not be released to the world. The force holding the door seemed to weaken as the girl, originally completely 'statued' glued to the door, now she has been partially released from her stoned parts as she can lift her head now. She slowly opened her eyes as if she had awakened from her normal night sleep. If anyone were to see the door before she awakens, anyone would think that the girl glued in the middle of the door is just one of the engravings that symbolise the door. Her beautiful form can mesmerize anyone. Her painful expression can be seen as if to mirror her sadness dwelling in the depth of her heart where no one could reach and understand.

The angelic girl lifted her head slowly and try to adjust her droopy eyes to look at her surroundings. Her expressionless face cannot hide her sadness that shown in her eyes, droopy as it is. She averted her gaze to the left and to the right as if making sure as to why she's in a very weird place like that. When she remembered, she dropped her head down and slowly close her eyes again. Her form looks like she was crucified minus the cross as she was attached to the humoungously big double doors.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Another cracking sound but this time the sound came one after another signalling the breaking of some stones or concrete or whatever hard materials present there. The 'statued' girl plopped to the ground in front of the double doors. Stone crumbles raining down on her and when the stone rain stopped, she gaze hazily at the door in front of her, confused. Her hands clasping to the ground to support her unbearable weight. She must have lost her strength from being petrified for a long time. Long time? How long? She wondered. trying to get on her feet, she clasped to the door to support her but failed greatly as she can't even move her legs. She sat there dazed and trying to figure out what had happened.

A minute passed. A few minutes passed. An hour passed but still she wouldn't budge from that spot. Though she didn't know how long had she been staring at the door until she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned her head to the direction of the sound of footsteps and looked into the darkness laid over her eyes. She can barely see a long hallway in the darkness. The footsteps grew closer but she still hadn't budge from her position sitting there legs folded and hands on the ground as a support. When finally the footsteps stopped, she studied the figure in front of her, looking down at her. The figure was a man wearing royal blue steward like uniform and was smiling at her sweetly. She knew this guy. she knew him quiet well. The guy gently kneeled down and took her hand in his and pulled her up slowly, supporting her by holding her waist when she almost fall down. Her legs staggered a bit as she stood up.

"Ruriko-sama, I'm glad I can meet you again," the blue-clad guy spoke when she straightened up a bit, arm still wrapped around Ruriko's waist to make sure that she won't fall again.

Theo smiled serenely at Ruriko while leading her out of the darkness into, what she could remember, a room called velvet room. Yes, this gorgeous guy with blond hair and golden sparkly eyes are called Theodore (a.k.a. Theo), the attendant and occupant of velvet room, a mysterious room where only chosen individuals can enter.

Ruriko looked curiously at Theo then around the velvet room. It seemed to her that she haven't been to the room for a long time. But how long has it been? She was not sure. In the place where she previously was, time was not essential as long as she guarded the big door, that's all there is to it. Her memories of the past, her precious memories still kept intact in her mind. She can remember all of it like it was just yesterday but deep in her mind she knows that it happened long ago. She misses her friends. While thinking that, she lowered her eyes looking to the ground and a hint of sadness shown in her eyes.

As Theo led her to the velvet armchair located in the centre of the room, she can see Igor (master of the velvet room) sitting in front of the chair that Theo led her to, smirking as always. The only thing separating both chairs was a medium size round table looking antique as always. She still remember the structure of this room, nothing has changed.

Igor began to speak with his gruff voice and as always round eyes bulging open. "It has been a while my precious customer. I see you haven't change, as expected since in that place, time is not essential. Do you know why you are awaken from your seal?" Igor asked tauntingly and looked at Ruriko with one eye especially concentrated on hers. Ruriko shook her head slowly. She felt her body was very heavy and she have had a hard time to move even her fingers let alone her legs and arms and head.

Igor smirked at her and continued his speech, "that is also as expected. You see, your being here can only mean one thing and that is, the seal was broken. We still don't know who cause this but you do know that if the seal is broken it will bring chaos to the world again. We are currently searching for the person responsible for this matter. Ruriko-sama, we once again need your power to suppress Nyx. Fighting Nyx would mean that your life can be at danger again. But this time you will need the strength of two other wildcards as Nyx's power will not be the same as when you fought her years ago. She is far more stronger now due to the hatred towards you who sealed her when she had just awaken. That's why Ruriko-sama, we need you to once again wield the power as a wildcard. What say you my precious customer?" As he finished his speech, he eyed Ruriko for an answer, hoping that Ruriko will agree to his idea. Ruriko looked confuse and chose to remained silent for a few minutes before nodding in agreement.

"Very well, you now have excess to the velvet room again at anytime. Nyx won't be descending from her sealed chamber at once because she need more time to recover her strength. In the meantime, you will need to prepare yourself for the battle that would decide whether humankind will continue to strive or extinct. I will warn you this. The descend of Nyx means the dark hour and shadow will once again appear. I trust you will tell your friends about this matter as you will need their strength again to suppress Nyx and her children. Now, Ruriko-sama, do you have anything to ask of me?" Igor seemed to breathed the sound of relief when he finished talking. He then gazed at Ruriko with his intense eyes, waiting for Ruriko to speak.

"Who are the other two wildcards?" Ruriko open her mouth voicing her curiosity. This is the first time she had spoken since her release from the seal. Well, she usually isn't much the talkative type though. She had a hard time to voiced it out, she hadn't completely taken control over her body. Her strength was not completely restored. She didn't know if it's because she hadn't move at all when she was 'statued' or she just don't want to move her body.

"Aah, that you will know of it when the time comes. They will come to you of their own free will. Until then, you will have to wait for their arrival. Now, do you have other questions?" Igor asked again after giving an ambiguous answer to Ruriko's question.

"How long have I been asleep?", another of her curious question. She shifted a bit as it began to feel slightly stiff sitting on the comfortable armchair for a long time.

"It had been 8 years now. I believe the world you are in will have many changes that you anticipate, correct?" Igor smiled his trademark smirked. "Now, I must usher you away from here. You need to attend to your business and so do I. Farewell my dear customer. Until we meet again". Igor sent her away with a smirk then Theo led her to the only exit of the velvet room.

"Ruriko-sama, I suggest that you change your clothes into these because that clothes looks...inappropriate." After being silence for a while, Theo had spoken to her. He frowned at her and gave her a brownish-orange blouse with a matching checkered above knee skirt and a pair of sandals. Ruriko looked at her own outfit now. White below knee length dress covered her body. It looked like it was meant to be used as a sleepwear and she was barefooted. She took the clothes that Theo gave to her and went to the left side of the room into a door which leads to a small room. She changed her clothes and went to the exit again. Theo held the door open and bowed a little saying "I hope we will meet again. Farewell Ruriko-sama" with a smile on his face. Ruriko nodded to Theo and walked out of the velvet room.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you ReachingOutFES for the review :D Yes! Ruriko still looks the same. I figured that if she were to be a seal, she won't grow during that time, as in my mind a seal looks like a stone carving of some sort, so why would stone carvings grow. That's why I decided that Ruriko will still remain as her 17 years old self. Anyway, I'm not really good at describing but I will try my best. Thank you again! :D Here is the second chapter. This chapter is longer and I don't know why . it's just kind of weird to cut it short. So, enjoy!

Chapter 2: Revelation

Ruriko arrived at the familiar back alley of Paulownia Mall. The weather was warm and she wondered if it is summer or spring. She walked slowly to the buzzing mall and was amazed at how the mall had changed. Well, there was not a lot of changes, just a few new shops opening up and more people could be seen walking around the mall now. But still she was amazed or to be precise amused on how small changes can lead to her being happy for some unknown reason. She walked around aimlessly trying to register the surroundings that she had missed for a long time. She could see the fountain shooting water up as usual. She could hear people chatting pointless topics. She misses this feeling of being in a crowd. She was confined in the dimensional space for a long time and it felt unreal to be in the middle of the place where she spent a lot of time in during her school life. She even wondered if she was still in the space dreaming of all of these.

When she realized that she need to do something, she immediately rose to her feet from the bench where she was sitting then slowly walked to the exit. On her way out, she saw a familiar face from a far, standing in front of the police station. Silver hair and silver eyes looking at his wristwatch. He looked calm as usual attracting the attention of passing women and girls. He had grown taller and grew some muscles but not the bulky type, just about the right proportion to his age and looks that every women that passed him by would think of this man as gorgeous. She hurried her feet to meet with her dream guy. 'Aki' she thought as she pushed her way through the crowd of people hoping to arrive at the side of the guy that stole her heart years ago.

She stopped dead when she saw a woman approaching Akihiko looking apologetic but Akihiko smiled at her understandingly. She was beautiful Ruriko have to admit. Long brown hair that flows straight to her hips with reddish-pink lipstick perfectly aligned her lips. She wore a business like attire, a black blazer with matching short skirt, but it doesn't seem like they are doing business as Ruriko saw the woman was holding Akihiko's arm as they walked towards her direction. Ruriko immediately turned around and walked out of the mall blending in well with the crowds. she didn't want Akihiko to see her now. She felt weird. She clutched her left side of her chest as if in pain. Well, she did feel hurt when she saw the scene, she felt that her heart was crunched inside her chest and it hurts so much that she decided to ease her pain by going to the most peaceful place in Iwatodai, that is the shrine. She walked out of the mall feeling her feet as heavy as her heart.

* * *

'How much longer do she have to make me wait?' Akihiko thought in his mind as he looked at his watch. He tapped his feet impatiently and still wore his calm face as he did so. He just got out from his job and was permitted to have lunch for only an hour and a half and now he had waited for 15 minutes and the woman that he waits for still wasn't here. He doesn't like wasting time pointlessly like this. He don't know how many times had he waited for this woman, she never make it on time and he wondered if all girls are like that. He stopped wondering when he found the answer. 'No, not all girls are like that. I know a girl that will always fulfill her promises' he thought to himself. He looked down to the ground and sigh longingly. 'I miss her.' He was drowned in his thought when suddenly he felt someone's hand on his arm. He looked up and saw the woman that had made him wait for a while now.

"I'm sorry to make you wait Akihiko, my boss was pushing all the works on me and I can't get out until I finish all my works," the woman said in a hurried tone. Akihiko smiled at her cursing in his thought and said, "don't worry about it." The woman then wound her arm around his and led him to the exit as planned. "Let's go now," she said happily as the guy that she love had forgiven her. Akihiko just followed her lead. He was looking around the mall thinking that there's a lot of people than usual during lunchtime. He doesn't like the crowd and 'tch'ed silently praying to get out of this crowd as soon as possible. As he scanned through the throngs of people he saw a familiar figure walking towards the exit. Brown hair tied in a ponytail style walking amongst the crowd. Her wavy hair thrash from side to side as she tried to pushed her way through. He can see her crimson eyes a bit from where he was standing. Before he knew it, he was chasing the girl through the throngs of people. He hurried his feet wanting to see her as soon as possible. He couldn't even hear the woman he was with calling out to him. That girl is what had been haunting him in his wake or in his dream. If he could only meet her, he would feel very happy. He want to hold her again. He misses her, even now he thinks that she is the only one that could make him feel restless and insecure like this.

When he finally was free from the crowd, he had lose sight of her. He run out of the mall and to the street searching for the face of his love one. He run along the street still searching for the brunette girl but to no avail. He couldn't find her and thought that maybe he had imagined all of it. "Damn it, Ruriko" clenching his fist, he cursed and sighed in defeat when he couldn't find her anymore. "I miss you", he mumbled to himself looking down to the ground with his sad eyes. The people passing by him looked at him curiously but he paid no heed to it as his mind was completely occupied with the thought of the girl of his life, Ruriko.

* * *

Ruriko arrived at Naganaki Shrine and the first thing that she do is look around to see any changes that may occur during her absence. The shrine doesn't change at all, maybe the atmosphere has become livelier than usual. She sat on the bench that she always used to sit on when she talked to Akinari and breathed in the fresh air of the shrine. It was indeed very peaceful being around the shrine. It calmed her to an extent. She sat there staring at the blue sky of, what she thought, spring. She watched an old lady praying in front of the shrine, hands clasped to each other and her plastic of groceries was on the ground to her side. A young couple was in front of the fortune box, maybe to get a fortune on how their relationship will work out. She could see the playground and few kids were playing around it shouting happy shouts among them. Ruriko smiled at this scene. 'what a nostalgic feeling' she thought to herself.

She soon realised that she need to contact her friends as soon as possible. She need to tell them what she knows before they found out about it themselves and started to get panic when they saw that the dark hour appear again. But she didn't know how to as she didn't have her mobile phone and she don't know where they live now. Surely they wouldn't be at the dorm now as they all finished their studies a long time ago. She wandered aimlessly out of the shrine and found herself standing in front of the dorm where she used to live. The dorm was as usual welcoming and have the warm feeling of being in a family. She don't know why she felt that way but she sat there thinking that even if she waited there she wouldn't be able to see her friends again. Knowing that, she still sat on the stairs leading to the double door of the dorm with her hands cupping her chin and resting her elbows on her knees like a child bored of playing with his/her friends. She wore her expressionless face as some passerby watched her intriguingly. Everyone was talking 'a mysterious girl with crimson eyes gazing intently in front of her with her expressionless face as if she's in an another world' among them and some gossipers happen to hear this passed on the news to their friends and this continues down the network of gossip.

Ruriko sat there for a long time ignoring the stares that people threw at her. She was gazing in front of her watching whomever that would appear in front of her. She don't know why she did that but she just doesn't know what to do to contact her friends. Sitting in front of the dorm while thinking, she may came up with an idea to get down to her business. She don't know how long had she been sitting on the stairs. She heard running footsteps approaching the dorm but she paid no heed of it. She just concentrated on thinking how about should she contact her friends as soon as possible. She heard someone panting near her and thought to herself 'running late?' Without looking at the person or two people because she heard multiple pants as if to catch a breathe due to some vigorous work out.

A man's voice leapt into her train of thoughts. "r...r...r...ru...Ruriko?" the unsure voice asked. She looked at the direction of the voice and saw a couple, shocked written all over their faces. They looked at Ruriko wide eyed. A guy with black spiky hair, wearing a simple black T-shirt with 'I'm the coolest' written on it with a pair of jeans was standing gaping at her. His eyes were as wide as an owl's and he was gaping, looking at Ruriko as if he just saw an alien. A brown haired girl with her chest-length hair falling down proportionately at her back wearing a pink blouse and a pair of short pants jeans looked at her with teary eyes. Yukari leapt forward throwing her weight onto Ruriko and hugged her tight. She managed to blurt out "Ruriko...it is really you right?...I miss you..." between her sobs. Ruriko smiled and said "I'm back" softly to Yukari and hugged her too. Yukari cried as she held onto her but then loosen her grip from Ruriko to give her some space.

"Ruriko, what happened? We thought you..." Yukari didn't finished her sentence and averted her gaze to the ground. Junpei that had been watching the scene started to speak. "Ruriko, I never thought I would meet you again. But man, you didn't change at all. You still look like a high school girl. What do you think of me? I grew my hair a little you know, heheh.." Junpei smirked as he finished talking. Then looked at her in a nostalgic way and said, "welcome back, leader" as he hugged her for a while and let her go. Ruriko managed to thank him for welcoming her back.

"It's been a long time guys. A lot had happened and I need to talk to all of you about something important. Can you tell the others about this? I don't know how to contact them", Ruriko spoke and looked at them expectantly. Yukari looked to Junpei in confusion and looked back at Ruriko and nodded in agreement. "I won't ask more but I will contact them for you. I'm sure they will be happy to know that you are still alive." Yukari smiled to herself as she said that. "Aah, Yukari, maybe it would be best not to tell them that I'm here for now," Ruriko said with a naughty smile and looked at Yukari hoping her to understand her intention.

"I know! you want to surprise them, right Ruri-tan?" Junpei smirked knowingly. Ruriko nodded in response and giggled a little. Her friends sure know how to read her mind. "But really, I'm glad we could meet again. We came here hurriedly when we heard a mysterious girl with crimson eyes was sitting in front of Iwatodai dorm. We assumed that a girl with crimson eyes would be none other than the leader. I'm glad I decided to follow Yuka-tan dashed out to here" Junpei said in a joking tone.

"Yeah, you are so reluctant to follow me. You don't believe my instinct at all. I told you that she would be Ruriko but you REFUSED to believe me, stupei", Yukari belted out as she quickly typed something on her phone. She seemed to compose an email to send to her friends maybe to inform about the meeting that Ruriko wanted to hold.

Junpei stammered and snapped, "stop calling me that. That is so old school now, Yuka-tan". It seemed that even if he said it, he still was bothered by the nickname. Ruriko giggled and thought that her friends still haven't changed apart from their appearance.

"What, Ruri-tan? Are you siding with Yukari on this? I'm your best friend you know", Junpei stated with a bit of desperate tone in his voice.

"And I'm her best friend too!", Yukari said as she pushed a button on her cell phone without looking at Junpei and Ruriko and went "Yosh!" as if she had succeeded her task successfully. "I've sent the email to all of them and ask them to gather at the lounge at 7 pm tonight. Now all that's left is to call Mitsuru-sempai. I can't email her because I know she won't be reading her mails. I don't know if she can come tonight, she had been busy since she started running the Kirijo company after she graduated college". Yukari explained as she skilfully pushed the buttons on her phone dialling a number and put her mobile phone to her right ear. While she made the call, Junpei was gazing at Ruriko with curiosity.

"I'm dying to know what this important matter that you need to talk about. We still don't know what had happened to you for the past 8 years and now you are back. I still don't believe my eyes. Is this a dream? Maybe I missed you too much that I'm seeing you in my dream like this. Aah, if Chidori knows this, she will strangle me saying that I cheat on her. But if this is a dream why is Yukari with me? If Yukari is in my dream it would be nightmare but if it's you in my dream it would be a nice dream. What should I do to make sure that this is real?" Junpei started babbling melodramatically with his hands reaching out to the sky as if he was in a play or some sort.

"Should I just punch you on your face to confirm your doubts?" Yukari asked sarcastically as she finished her call.

Junpei straightened out his hand and said, "No, no need for that. Thank you for offering your assistance, Yukari-sama. Having you punch me would mean having my throat slit with a samurai sword" Junpei contemplated and went silent when Yukari glared at him.

"So, Mitsuru-sempai will come down tonight because she said she needed to escape from her work. I told her that we are gathering to celebrate Junpei's engagement with Chidori. But it's a lie though. Chidori would never want to be engaged with stupei anyway," Yukari said knowing that Junpei will surely replied to her statement.

"Hey, I resent that Yuka-tan. Chidori will surely would like to be engaged with me. She said she loves me and want to..." Junpei said with a desperate voice but was cut short when Yukari took Ruriko's hand and dragged her to the dorm. "Now, should we go in? We need to hide you from others before the appointed time. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if they see you lurking around outside the dorm, heheh...", Yukari said leaving Junpei behind as he said, "I haven't finish talking, you know." Junpei followed behind them and was about to follow them to the 3rd floor but was scolded by Yukari. He retreated to the 2nd floor where he went to his room.

Yukari took Ruriko to her room and smiled mischievously. She asked Ruriko to sit on her cushion and as Ruriko can remember, Yukari's room was still as pink as usual. A few changes were made to the room such as, new posters, new pink bed sheet with a few sunflowers embedded on it and a few photos of Yukari and her friends were stucked on the walls.

"Though everyone had already graduated and worked at some companies, we still go to this place when we need to cool ourselves off. You know, working really tires us out so this place is like a secret place where we can be ourselves and belt out all the stress that was building up. Mitsuru-sempai made this place as SEES meeting place whenever we have events to celebrate. We even gathered here every year to remember the day you left us, 5th March. We would eat sushi and do stuff that we did when celebrating the fall of the 12th shadow. That is the only way we could remember you and show you that we are happy. Though it hurts but we still did that knowing that you will be happy if we are happy. But now you are here, I think this is the happiest moment of my life finding out that I can go out with you again like we used to. Having you around is fun as hell, heheh...sorry for using that word but I can't express how happy I am right now," Yukari said shamefully and smiled at Ruriko. They talked a lot about trivial stuff, laughing whenever they think funny, enjoying every moment of their conversation like they used to in the past. They didn't realize that it was almost 7 until Junpei knocked on Yukari's door to tell her that almost everyone had arrived.

* * *

At 7.15 pm, every member of SEES had arrived and was chatting among each other updating their current statuses. Mitsuru was the last one to arrive and apologised for being late. Her wavy red hair was tied in a bun and she wore her business attire indicating that she just got out of work and went straight to the dorm. She was as usual very charming and gorgeous. if anyone hadn't known her, they would be enticed by just the way she walk. Ken was a lot more taller now that he is a 19 year old young adult. His face looked more mature and one would say that he's got a good-looking face, what's with his body proportionately built to match his age, not too skinny nor too plumpy, just about the right proportion for a normal young adult. Fuuka almost never change except she grew taller and looked more sophisticated and confident than before. Her laptop on her lap was still there as she talk and type at the same time. Shinjiro was as usual wearing his gruffy expression 'tch'-ing everything that his friends said or did. His hair was cut short and he wasn't wearing his beanie anymore. Koromaru was nuzzling at his feet wanting to be petted by Shinjiro and it looked like Koromaru haven't change at all.

"So, everyone is here now. You all know why we gathered here tonight right? Our best friend Junpei will be engaged to his love of life, Chidori, so we need to lecture him good tonight. Agree?" Yukari started the ceremony by addressing to her friends that had been with her for a long time now. Then everyone shouted "AGREEEE!" at the same time and bursted into a rapid laughter. They looked at Junpei smirking but Junpei looked at them with an amuse expression knowing that Yukari just acted it all out. He was smiling to himself imagining their shocked faces when Ruriko walked down the stairs. 'Hohoho, that would be priceless. Should I take a picture of every one of them? hehehe...' he thought to himself not realising that he had a wide grin stamped on his face. The others looked at him curiously. Yukari nudged him on his waist and cleared her throat.

"So now, we will welcome Chidori to this lounge. I'll go get her now." Yukari ran upstairs and went straight to her room to call for Ruriko that had been waiting for her turn to appear on 'stage'. The others clapped cheerily as they anticipated the descend of the so called 'Chidori'. Ruriko calmly walked down the stairs and when she reached the stairs leading to the ground floor, she inhaled and exhaled her breath slowly and continued striding down. Yukari followed behind her grinning like a child. She knows that her friends would be so shocked to see that who they had expected was not the one to descend down the stairs.

Ruriko reached the last step of the stairs and walked slowly to the groups that was chatting loudly. They looked up when they feel someone was approaching them and was about to tease Junpei when they saw Ruriko was standing in front of them. They went silent and stared at the person in front of them wide eyes, so shocked to even utter a word. For a few seconds, the lounge grew silent with only Junpei and Yukari grinning knowingly while Ruriko put on her sweetest smile to greet her precious friends. The first one to rose on his feet was Akihiko as he hurriedly rushed to Ruriko and hugged her tight.

"Ruriko...Ruriko...Ruriko..." he repeatedly said her name. "It really is you, right?" asking her as if to make certain of the person that he was holding. He wouldn't let go of her but Ruriko doesn't mind as she hugged him back gently. "Yes, it's me, Ruriko". She said to erase the uncertainty building inside Akihiko's mind or anyone's mind for that matter. Akihiko let go of her and stared into her eyes. He said "I miss you" in a muffled voice. He was too shocked to even say a word but managed to say only those three words. The others that were flabbergasted soon rushed to her and hugged her saying how they missed her and wanted to see her badly. They spilt tears of joy as they blurted out whatever they were feeling at that time and surrounded Ruriko as if to make sure that she won't go away again.

They were laughing and chatting again, asking so many questions to Ruriko but most of it Ruriko answered with a smile. They chattered about their life and what they were doing all this time to tell her how their life had progressed so far. Everyone looks happy and I mean everyone including Shinjiro even with his gruffly face he smiled from time to time and when he realised he was smiling, he reverted back to his grunted face. This happened over and over again. Anyone would be happy seeing the friend that they had thought died was actually still alive. Akihiko was smiling all the time staring at Ruriko as she laughed beautifully at what her friends was saying and talked to them when needed. 'So I wasn't dreaming this afternoon after all. I'm glad I can meet her again. Looking at her up front like this, she haven't change a bit,' he thought to himself.

Yukari suddenly rose to her feet and tried to hush the others as she stared at Ruriko in a serious manner. "So, what is it that you wanted to tell us about? It is something important right?" Yukari reminded her. Ruriko's expression changed into a complicated stern as she remembered the details of what she has to say. She sighed and started to talk, "I'm sorry to ruin this happy reunion but I have to tell you guys something really important. I will explain everything and I hope that you guys will remain silent until I finish talking. I will answer any of your questions after I'm done talking so please bear with me for awhile." Ruriko looked at her teammates pleadingly. Everyone nodded and looked at her anticipatingly. She explained everything to them carefully making sure that she made clear of what she wanted to tell. Their expression turned grim when she finished talking and everyone went silent.

"I can't believe anyone would want to resurrect Nyx like that. Why would they do that? And how did they do that?" The first one to ask Ruriko the question was Yukari. She looked enraged. Ruriko answered with "I don't know. We are still searching for the culprit behind this," and went silent again waiting for the next question to come up.

"If Nyx is stronger now, how should we be able to defeat her later? We struggled to the very end when we fight her but now she is stronger, I can't imagine fighting her again", now Ken has voiced out his concern. Ruriko turned her stare to Ken. His brown hair tied in a small ponytail at the base of his head as his faced marred with an uneasy expressions that looked out of place for his handsome feature. Ruriko mentioned about the two other wildcards that will be arriving soon to help them and in the process explained to them the meaning of wielding the power of wildcards.

"Now, you want us to fight against that thing again? Don't joke around like that! We almost die fighting it years ago and now it is stronger, I don't intend to die just yet." Junpei glared at Ruriko as he said those words. Everyone fall silent into deep thinking but Ruriko managed to let out her voice saying her original intention as to why she called for the meeting. "Then don't fight. Tonight there may be a dark hour so I just want to tell you guys before you start wondering how come the dark hour descend again. I don't intend to drag you all to fight with Nyx again. That is not why I'm here." Ruriko smiled at them calmly. She saw that Junpei's expression turned soft as she said those words. She didn't want her friends to suffer again, if she must, she will fight Nyx alone.

Junpei looked apologetic and said, "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I didn't mean to say that. I just thought that all these things are too shocking and it's hard for me to accept."

"I'm not blaming you, Junpei. So, you guys don't have to fight Nyx again. Just live your life as normally as you can and stay on alert at anytime. With this, I shall go now. I have to attend to some businesses", Ruriko rose to her feet looking at her friends that was gaping dumbfounded by what she said. She wanted to give her friends some time to register this new shocking news. Besides, she just wanted to warn them, nothing more. She was about to walk to the door when she felt her hand was held stopping her from leaving. She turned her head to find out Akihiko holding her hand, gazing into her eyes.

"I have a question for you as well", he said. Ruriko turn to face Akihiko and nodded to allow Akihiko to shoot his question. It's been a while since she last seen Akihiko so intent like this. How she miss this man but when she remembered what happened that afternoon she tried to erase her feelings. She shouldn't let her feelings get to her, they have their own life now.

"Is there a way to completely erase Nyx?" Akihiko asked shooting his stare at Ruriko. Now all the attention was on the couple. They waited patiently for Ruriko's answer. "Truthfully there are none that we know of. We can only do it the old way, that is to defeat her and seal her like before." Ruriko replied without falter.

Still holding her hand, Akihiko's expression turned grim. "Then are you saying you want to seal Nyx again? Are you going to be the...seal again if Nyx is defeated?" Akihiko asked hesitated about the question. He knows the answer but he still want to make sure the extent to the truth behind what he thinks.

"Yes, that's how it is." As she said it she shook Akihiko's hand free and walked out of the dorm not wanting to be there any longer because she know that the longer she was there the more she can break down in no time. She don't want them to see her weak self. She ran away from the dorm wanting to get far away from there. No one should know the pain that she had to bear and the burden she had to carry. She would bear this alone. She didn't want anyone to know that she too want to live her life like a normal person, going to work, chatting with friends after work and even having a family to brag about. She just wanted a peaceful life without knowing the danger that the world holds. But she could never be ignorant again after all that she had went through. She ran to Naganaki shrine as she wiped her eyes wet with tears. That is the first time in a long time that she had cried a lot like that. It felt so painful and she didn't know what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you again ReachingOutFES for your review! :D I don't know if my description was clear enough but hopefully it is passable :p

For this chapter it was a bit short but we have an introduction of an OC here so I hope my description of the person is well enough. My ability in describing something is not plausible, it's too simple that I sometimes hope that my vocabulary goes beyond the dictionary, haha XD I already wrote the next chapter. I just need to spruce it up a bit before posting it here. Enjoy this third chapter everyone! :D

Chapter 3: The Meeting

Ruriko sat on the bench at Naganaki shrine staring at the night sky. The stars were spread out wonderfully blanketing the night sky. It was so beautiful that Ruriko forgot about her worries for a while mesmerised by the scene laid out above her. She sat there in silence, feeling the night breeze gently slapping her face. So she IS still alive. She can feel the wind on her skin not like when she was a stone. At that time, she doesn't have any senses, it's a sad fate for one to be in if we think about it. But Ruriko think that it's better that she be the seal rather than having someone else to replace her.

She was too absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't realise Koromaru was beside her feet nuzzling her. She lowered her body a little and petted Koromaru on the head. She smiled when Koromaru barked in delight. "Koro-chan, it's been a while, right? Your fur is so soft as usual. How have you been? Do you want to accompany me tonight? I don't have a place to stay," she said talking to Koromaru as if he understand what she was talking about. She rubbed Koromaru's head and his chin lovingly. She really loves rubbing Koromaru's fur because it was very soft and comfortable. She didn't realise a dark figure approaching her until the figure voiced out something to her.

"Then you can stay with me for a while if you don't have a place to stay", a gruffly voice greeted her and she was shocked when she heard it. She looked at the figure and found out that it was Shinjiro standing near the swings at the playground. He looked down at her expecting her answer.

"Aah, no, it's fine. I can find somewhere to stay. I don't want to trouble you, sempai. Besides, what would everyone think if they found out that I was staying at your place", Ruriko said calmly giggling a bit when she realised Shinjiro was blushing.

"Tch..you really think about others first before you, huh? Well, it sort of make sense. You're a girl after all", Shinjiro said in a gruffly voice. "Just so you know, you can't stay at Aki's place." Shinjiro added eyeing Ruriko's expression when he said it.

"I know that. Aki has his own life after all", Ruriko forced a smile as she replied to Shinjiro's remark.

"So, you knew about it, huh? Did Aki told you?" Shinjiro asked again amused that the news had reached Ruriko even though she just got back. "No, I saw him with the woman this afternoon. She is gorgeous. They look good with each other." Ruriko said, averting her gaze to the ground. The crushed feeling on her heart lingered again. 'It hurts', she thought to herself not wanting Shinjiro to realise how painful she felt at that moment. But even without seeing Ruriko's expression he knew that she was holding her sadness inside. He sat beside Ruriko and lean her head onto his shoulder. "You can cry, you know" Shinjiro said as he held on to her head. Ruriko nodded and tears began falling down her cheeks. She hid her face onto Shinjiro's shoulder while Shinjiro remained silent, hearing her muffled sobs on his clothes. 'No one wants to hurt you, Ruriko. You are so strong,' he thought to himself and closed his eyes. He too felt painful seeing her cry for other guy like that. Koromaru just watched the scene whining as if he understand what Ruriko and Shinjiro felt.

When Ruriko finished crying, she moved herself away from Shinjiro and wiped her tears away. She looked at Shinjiro half apologetic and half embarrassed as she said, "I'm sorry sempai. I wet your clothes like that with my tears." She smiled sheepishly at Shinjiro making his heart skip a beat. "It's fine", Shinjiro said blushing slightly.

"It's almost midnight, sempai. You should go back home", Ruriko said as she stared at Shinjiro. Shinjiro was taken aback at what she said. It's as if Shinjiro will be in danger if he was out in the night and she will be fine. "What about you? It's dangerous for a girl to be out at night you know. If you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at mine. I don't mind sleeping on the couch." Shinjiro said desperately. He didn't want to leave Ruriko alone not after knowing that the dark hour may come tonight.

Ruriko smiled at him reassuringly. "I'll be fine sempai. I know where I can stay the night. So don't worry about me. And thank you sempai. You are so kind." Ruriko said smiling brightly as she rose to her feet and ran down the shrine's stairs. Shinjiro was in a daze and he felt his cheeks were warm when he heard what Ruriko had just said. 'I'm not kind, you know', he thought to himself as he silently led Koromaru to his apartment.

* * *

As expected, that night the dark hour did come. Ruriko was on her way to the velvet room, she thought that she can stay the night at the velvet room because she don't know where else to go. Her surroundings suddenly turned green and coffins aligned the street leading to Paulownia mall. Everyone was transmogrified. Walls bleeding red at some places and the moon looked eerily big in the sky. 'So, dark hour really comes, huh?' she thought to herself and hurried her steps to enter Paulownia mall rubbing her arms, feeling the chill of the night or to be precise the chill of the dark hour.

She looked around the deserted mall only to find coffins lining around the mall. She forgot to ask her friends where they had put her stuff. She didn't bring any weapon with her now and she doesn't have her evoker either. But she may not encounter shadow this first night of the dark hour. She made her way to the back alley of the mall only to be stopped by a rustling sound from the left side of the mall where a dark hallway lead to another alley was located. Ruriko turned her head towards that sound and waited for anything to come out of its hiding. 'It may be a shadow', she thought. Though she didn't have her weapon with her now, she might find something to use to defeat the shadow. 'It will work out somehow', she thought again and focused all her attention to the rustling sound that got louder or is it the sound of footsteps? She couldn't really tell.

"For a persona-user, you look too cute", she heard the voice of a man before she even see his face. She squirted her eyes to see clearly who was the one saying those words. A tall young man about the age of early 20s wearing a blue v-neck t-shirt and a pair of dark denim jeans emerged from the dark alley. He wore a pair of rectangular glasses and his naturally hazel hair was styled messily but fits his arrogant image. He looked pale or maybe the light from the dark hour made him looked like that. His purple eyes shone brightly even through his glasses. Folding his arms, he smiled gently at Ruriko and gazed into her crimson eyes as if to delve into her conscience. Ruriko maintained her expressionless face and confronted the man. 'Who is this guy? If he knows about persona, then is he a persona-user too?' All sorts of question running wild through her mind. She eyed the man suspiciously and heard he chuckled a little at her alertness.

"Don't worry, I won't fight you today. I just came to introduce myself. Can you take me to the leader of SEES?". The guy approached Ruriko slowly and smiled at her as if to ensure her that he doesn't have any evil intentions. She maintained her blank expression without saying anything while staring back at the man without waver. The man chuckled and said, "silent treatment, huh? You are interesting. Then, I'll just give you my business card. Tell your leader that if she wants to know why the seal was broken, she can call me anytime she wanted to and I will arrange a meeting with her." The man retreated a few steps from Ruriko and looked at her expression. She looked a little bit shocked but she didn't say anything as her face returned to her blank expression.

He smiled mysteriously at her brief expression. "Yes, I'm currently working with the Kirijo group and I know that the leader of Kirijo group is one of SEES but I know she wasn't the one that led SEES into battle years ago. Another girl was the leader and I want to see what type of person she is. From what I read, she seemed to be a strong one and she seemed very smart to lead a group of teens into fights like that and successfully save the world. I would want to meet this girl, would you not? Please tell her about me. I look forward to meeting her. Good day missus", as he said that he retreated into the dark alley bowing down a little, leaving Ruriko puzzled with his business card in her hand.

Ruriko recalled what the guy was saying 'if she wants to know why the seal was broken, call me'. She really want to know why it was broken but she can't afford to trust a stranger. Maybe he just bluffed his way through if she asked her about it. She thought for a while and decided to head over to the velvet room for now. Another thing that concerned her is that he said,'I won't fight you today' as if saying that they will fight each other eventually. She was too tired to think about it that she decided to leave the matter as it is. She stayed the night at the velvet room and left the room early in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the 4th chapter. I don't know how this turned out but hope you guys enjoy reading it! :D let me know what you think about it, okay! Thank you^^

Disclaimer: I haven't made any disclaimer in my previous chapters, so sorry about that . All characters are from Persona 3 Portable and I do not own them except for these new OC - Akari and Akatsuki Raikou. They are all that I've got _

Chapter 4: No Time For Love

Ruriko wandered around aimlessly not knowing what to do. She have to wait for the arrival of the two wildcards to proceed with plan of getting ready for the battle. Without knowing who they are and when will they arrive, she hope that she can cooperate well with them. Igor did say that Nyx won't be coming down until she is fully healed but for how long? When she thought that Nyx would come at any time, she felt a flutter in her stomach. 'I shouldn't be nervous like this. I've fought Nyx before and I will win again this time' she said to herself to calm her nerves. She didn't realised that she had walked back to Paulownia mall in her confusion. She sat down on one of the benches and continued her train of thoughts.

Ruriko thought of a lot of possibilities that could happen if Nyx were to descend. She needs to know why the seal was broken. She pulled something out of her skirt's pocket and looked at the card thoughtlessly. Maybe she should meet this 'Akatsuki Raikou' person and ask him what he had to say. She have to know anything related to the breaking of the seal. While waiting for the two wildcards, she may find a clue as how to seal Nyx again. She decided to give the man a call but forgot that she didn't have a cell phone with her. Now how the hell should she contact this 'Akatsuki Raikou'? She sat back down onto the bench and thought for other ideas. She didn't realise that someone was rushing to her side. She heard someone trying to catch a breath but she didn't pay any mind to it lost in her thoughts. When she heard her name being called, she looked up to find Akihiko staring down at her intently.

"Sempai...", she called out shocked to find the silver-haired guy in front of her. Akihiko twitched at the sound of the honorific and warned Ruriko saying, "what did I tell you before? Drop the honorific and call me Aki". Akihiko sat down beside her and stared into the space in front of him. Ruriko did the same.

"What are you doing alone here? Where did you sleep last night? I couldn't find you after you ran out last night and I have to gave up when Shinjiro asked me to." Akihiko broke the silence by asking questions. Ruriko calmly smiled and replied, "I was thinking about a lot of things. I didn't realise you were there just now. And last night I slept at a friend's place". Ruriko lied and smiled reassuringly avoiding eye contact with Akihiko by staring at the people passing by their bench. She made sure that she only answered what's necessary.

"The dark hour really came last night. I thought you were just joking when you said it. But then again you looked serious last night that I don't know what to think of it. Everyone was shocked by your revelation but we know that you were shocked too when you heard this from whoever it was telling you all of this. Can you really trust those people? How did they know that the seal was broken? There are a lot of questions left unanswered", Akihiko said sighing heavily.

"They were the ones who had guided me through our battle years ago. I trust and believe what they said to me. So you should too, Aki", Ruriko smiled again and looked at Akihiko with her unreadable eyes. It's very hard to understand what she was thinking when she put on that smile and her blank expression.

"Well, if you say so", he fell silent as he gazed at the flock of people passing by them. He was thinking about what she had said last night. He didn't know what to say to her. He knew that Ruriko was the one who suffered the most, being given the role to be the seal for a great entity to save the world yet she just smiled at them knowing her fate. Akihiko couldn't even imagine what if he was the one to bear that fate. He would break down in no time. Ruriko is so strong, he thought and felt sorry for her. This girl that he loves dearly always think of others before herself. Sometimes he just thought that enough is enough. She shouldn't bear all of the problems just by herself, a lot of people loves her and that includes him as well. They wanted to be by her side helping her in any ways possible but she wouldn't allow it. She would rather be hurt then see others hurt. That is her personality and this hasn't change at all even as time goes by. Akihiko sighed softly as he thought about Ruriko's behaviour.

Ruriko tried to start a conversation because she couldn't bear the silence between them. Only the sound of people in the mall chattering amongst themselves can be heard, none from the both of them. "Aki, don't you have to go to work now?" Ruriko asked after a long string of silence. Akihiko looked at Ruriko and replied, "no, today I have a day off".

"So what are you doing here? Don't you have anything to do, that's why you are here, right?" Ruriko asked again reminding Akihiko his real goal for going to the mall. Akihiko sat up straight when he remembered and frantically looked around the mall in search for something or someone. His gaze stopped at a figure approaching them gently smiling at them. Ruriko knew this woman. She was with Akihiko yesterday and she realised that Akihiko was meeting with his girlfriend. She stood up and bowed to Akihiko when the woman arrived at their side. Akihiko was standing up as well. "So I'll take my leave now. Bye, bye, Aki", Ruriko said to Akihiko with a smile and bowed down to the woman as well. she turned around ready to leave the mall but was stopped when the woman tugged on her clothes.

"Ummm, you are?", she asked, looking at Ruriko with a smile. Ruriko turned around again facing the woman and replied, "I'm Ruriko, Akihiko-sempai's kouhai. We were in the same club back at high school," she explained extending her hand to the woman. She took it and gently shook Ruriko's hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Akari", she said with a smile glancing to Akihiko who looked slightly uncomfortable. Ruriko nodded trying to get out of the place as soon as she can. She cannot bear to see them together. Though it didn't show on her face but she is rather disturbed with this encounter. "So...you are the one, huh? Aren't you a little too young?" the woman wondered as she eyed Ruriko from head to bottom. Ruriko felt uncomfortable with the gaze and averted her own gaze to the passersby.

"Akihiko, I want to borrow her first. Please leave us alone", Akari said as she turned her attention towards him and stared at him menacingly. Akihiko hesitated but was shooed away by Akari even more. They exchanged a few words, Akihiko trying to know why she wanted to talk with Ruriko and Akari trying to make Akihiko go away without explaining herself when at last Akihiko left them alone. Akari turned her head to face Ruriko again and asked her to sit down on the bench nearby.

"Don't worry, I won't attack you or anything", Akari laughed a bit when she saw Ruriko tensed up beside her. "I know about your relationship with Akihiko. I heard you two talking a little just now. Well, I don't really understand but the bit that got me interested was how you called him. He never permitted me to call him 'Aki'. He would get mad if I did so, heheh..I kinda understand now why he don't want me to call him by that nickname. We have been going out for almost a year now. Truthfully it was one sided because I forced myself onto him. I really love him so much but as I spent a lot of time with him I began to realise that I cannot be the one to steal his heart because he already gave it to someone else. He was always in a daze and he never really paid any attention to what I was talking about. He thought that just smiling to everything that I said would make me happy. But I don't feel the slightest happiness with it. I want him to really look at me like I'm the only one in his world but sadly that won't happen. I even have to wonder what kind of a girl was his ex-girlfriend that he couldn't forget at all", Akari paused a bit then looked at Ruriko with her intense eyes but then her expression turned soft and she smiled at Ruriko. Ruriko thought that Akari is very bright and mature. Her words were carefully picked and matched with her mature features. Just from observing her face, Ruriko could tell that Akari really love Akihiko so much that she could see the glitter in her eyes when Akari talked about Akihiko and the sorrow as she said all of those words of truth. Ruriko listened intently at everything that Akari uttered to her.

"Now I know why though. I thought you would be the worst woman because you left Akihiko hurt without a cure. Turns out, you are not. When I look at you, I know that you are the type that would prefer to suffer rather than having others to bear the wounds. I don't know what made you left but it seemed that Akihiko understood your reason that is why he never hated you. In fact, he still loves you now, I'm sure of it. That's why rather than seeing him hurt, I will back off of this relationship. Now that you have returned I'm sure he would want to be with you. I couldn't bear being your replacement, even if I love him that much, but if he never returns my love, it's better that I gave up on him. It hurts so much. So, please make him happy again Ruriko-chan." Akari finished expressing her feelings and had taken Ruriko's hand into hers in hope that she would understand what she wants her to do.

Ruriko do still love Akihiko but she know that going back to the way they were will only cause pain to Akihiko again. She hesitated to say anything for a while but decided to explain for herself to Akari. "I'm sorry, Akari-san. I won't be staying long here. After I finish my business, I will ...leave this place immediately. If I were to be with Akihiko now...I will only hurt him again when I have to leave later. So, please be beside him and take care of him". As she said those words, she swallowed air feeling the heavy feelings of entrusting her loved one. She had a hard time saying the words but managed to blurt out almost everything that she thought about right then. Yes! She cannot be with Akihiko now because she knew that both of them would get hurt if they pursue their relationship again. Ruriko knew that she doesn't have a lot of time to spend on Earth. She lowered her head to hide her sadness and hoped that her feelings for Akihiko would eventually fade away. 'No time to regret my existence!' as she thought of that, her hands were shaking and she clutched it very hard that she thought she would cry from the pain. Though she knew the pain was not from her clutched hands but from her frustrated heart, Ruriko tried very hard not to show her emotions in front of Akari.

Akari looked at Ruriko curiously and started shaking her head vigorously. "No, I won't!" she said matter of factly. Ruriko looked at Akari in surprise at her disagreement. "Why?" she asked desperately. Akari gazed at her intently again and said, "I've had enough of being the replacement. I told you didn't I? So I will end this relationship here and today. Akihiko will have the right to choose whether to continue it or not. If he chose to let me go then I will go away happily. Even if I look like this, I'm popular you know. A lot of guys would want to be with me, so you don't have to worry" she winked at Ruriko and made a dissatisfied face continuing her speech, "Besides, what good would it be to waste away my romance with someone that don't even recognize my existence? I'm still young and now I intent to enjoy my life to the fullest before I start to wither away. So Ruriko-chan, you can't stop me." Akari went to where Akihiko stood as she waved cheerfully towards Ruriko. Akihiko was watching both girls talking but now it is Ruriko that was keeping an eye on the couple. Ruriko watched as Akari talked to Akihiko, watching their changes in facial expressions. As interesting as it would be to watch the changes, she decided that she needed to get away from that place and rose to her feet to leave the mall. She didn't want to think about her love life now. She need to figure out how to contact the mysterious guy that appeared in front of her last night.


	5. Chapter 5

It's been a while since I last updated this fic. I was totally busy with assignments for the past few weeks. Now that the holiday is kicking in, I finally had the time to write this chapter. It was a lot cliche than you might have expected and I'm sorry for that :/ but I'll try to make it a lot better for the next one so bear with me for a while. And lastly, please enjoy reading this chap and tell me what you think. Thank you :D

Chapter 5: The Family

Ruriko walked around the station to gather her thoughts. She walked in circle attracting the attention of a lot of people that passed by her. She had been at the station for quite some time and people started to wonder what she was doing walking in circle in the middle of the plaza. She ignored the stares that she got from the people around her and kept thinking how to go about contacting the guy. She didn't want her friends to know that she may be meeting a potential enemy. She didn't have the intention to get her friends involved any further. But without her cell phone she cannot contact the guy and she doesn't have money on her right now and she haven't eaten anything since yesterday. She just realise this and began to feel her stomach churning. She stopped walking around and approached an empty bench sitting herself on it. Ruriko rested her head on the head of the bench staring at the blue sky. 'It is so peaceful now but if Nyx were to descend it will cause chaos again. I need to make sure that the world won't be affected anymore' Ruriko thought to herself as she gazed lazily to the sky. The bright sun was hurting her eyes that she closed it by reflex.

"RURIKOOOO!" suddenly, she heard someone shouted her name from a far. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to the sound of the voice. She was surprised to see the person running towards her hurrying down the stairs of the station and straight to her. She stood up immediately and walked to the person trying to shorten their distance. Feeling her body lighter, she ran up to the person too and hugged him tightly as soon as he arrived in front of her.

"Ruriko...they told me that you have disappeared when I tried to contact the administration of the school to know your whereabouts years ago. I don't know what to do. You are my only family and I thought that I had lost you. I'm glad that I could see you again. I miss you my sister. I love you so much so don't leave me again, okay?" the blue-haired guy hugged her tight as if not to let her go. He was much taller from the last time Ruriko met him. Her twin Brother, Minato, really loves her because they were always together and when Ruriko had to leave for Gekkoukan, he was the one that cried a lot, trying to stopped Ruriko from going. Ruriko received a scholarship to Gekkoukan while Minato received a scholarship to another school back then. So they have to go their separate way. They can't afford to reject the scholarships as they don't have money to pay for private school. Therefore, accepting it was the only way for them to continue their studies. They don't want to be a burden to their relatives that took them in anymore than they did. His tall figure looming in front of her blocking the sun from her eyes. She stared at her brother lovingly with a smile.

Minato was hugging her very tight that she had a hard time trying to breath. He sputtered things such as how worried he was when he couldn't get in touch with her, his speeches goes on forever and he almost looked like he was about to cry. Ruriko wanted to laugh at her brother's antics but decided against it and just smiled serenely, feeling the warmth of the arms that she had missed. They were separated for a long time now and she could understand how Minato felt about it that she herself was about to cry but she settled for just leaning her head to the broad chest of her brother. Her brother doesn't change much over the years in terms of appearance. The only changes noticeable was that he had grown taller and his outfit were more appealing than they were before. Minato wore a casual khaki button up shirt with a cream coloured jeans that made his blue hair stood out a lot. His rectangular glasses made him looked more sophisticated than nerdy and his childish feature remained the same only to add to his cool appearance. His hair was still messily arranged like it was not combed properly and his bangs covered his right eye concealing the brilliant blue orb that was already hidden behind his glasses.

After finishing his long run of talks, Minato panted slightly trying to catch his breath and he let go of Ruriko who was relieved that she wasn't crushed by her brother's bone crushing hug. A guy approached them from the station carrying two large suitcases dragging both slowly and carefully. He strode carefully with both suitcases at his hands and a gentle smile plastered on his face. He wore a long sleeved blue shirt and black jeans that doesn't look out of place with his silver hair and silver eyes. The silver haired boy smiled at Ruriko and said, "long time no see, Ruri-nee". Ruriko have to wonder who the guy was when Minato reminded her. "Ruriko, you have to remember him. It's Yu-chan. We used to take him out to play when we were staying at their place. I'm living with Yu-chan right now because we worked in the same city."

Pondering on what Minato had said, her mind thought of a short statured boy that shied away when they first met at her uncle's home. She remembered him as her nephew that used to follow the both of them wherever they went. The boy really changed a lot as he was now more confident looking and his gentle feature could make the girls glanced at him for a second time. Ruriko smiled and said, "yes, I remember now! Long time no see Yu-chan. You have grown too much I couldn't even recognise you". She laughed a little when Yu blushed at her comments.

Minato turned serious and looked at Ruriko intently. "There are a lot of things that you had hid from me. The things that happened when you first arrived here at Iwatodai. Please tell me everything. And I mean every single thing that had happened starting from the first time when you encountered the dark hour." Minato said sternly. Ruriko was shocked to find out that her brother knows about the dark hour. She looked at him with a puzzled look. She wanted to ask about it but she was too tired to say anything because right then she felt that her mind could blow at any second. After she came back, she spent all her time thinking about the things that could help her to defeat Nyx and now she just wanted to relax a bit, forgetting the worrying things that she knew she could not escape from.

Ruriko sighed heavily and agreed to tell her brother about everything. After all, they never kept a secret before and her adventure at Iwatodai was the first thing that she kept from her brother. "I will tell you everything Minato-nii but it's kind of inappropriate to talk about it in public. Besides I haven't eaten anything since yesterday", Ruriko said with a smile trying to lighten up the atmosphere. Minato looked at her sister and smiled too. "Should we eat out before going to my new apartment? But it would be a hassle to drag around our luggage. We'll go to my apartment first, then eat out, ok? Where should we eat? You know good places around here right, Ruriko?" Minato asked trying to looked calm in front of his beloved sister. He was bothered by the stuff that was happening around his sister but for his sister's sake, he will try to wait a little before listening to her explanation. He had heard a little about it but he wanted to know everything and he still had no idea where Ruriko was for the past 8 years. He wanted to know how she was living her life since she arrived at Iwatodai. The picture of his beloved sister suffering just because she was fated to save the world made him want to hold her in his arms again and never let her go so that she doesn't have to play her role. Keep her safe from everything even if it means to let the world die. But he knew Ruriko won't approve of it, she would do her best to make others happy. His sister was so kind that sometimes he just wished that she would be ignorant to everything.

"Minato-nii, you already rented an apartment here? Can I stay with you too? I don't have a place to stay", Ruriko said pleadingly at her brother. Minato was broken out of his reverie as he heard his sister's soft voice. He stared at his sister taking in her unchanged features. Her crimson eyes that she inherited from their grandparents was always mesmerizing. Even now, Minato was somehow drawn to it. Her childish face made her more attractive and Minato knew that a lot of the guys couldn't take their eyes off her.

"You don't have a place to stay? Where were you staying before?" Minato looked at her in concern. His smile faded when he heard that his sister have nowhere to go. He wondered where she was staying before. His concern heightened when he thought that his sister might be wandering around alone at night. In this dangerous world, there's no knowing what would happened. His eyebrows knitted thinking about it and he watched Ruriko intently. Ruriko just smiled her usual angelic smile.

"I'll tell you all about it after lunch. So, shall we go for ramen later? The ramen at Hagakure is delicious you know and I'm in the mood to eat ramen now. Minato-nii, you will treat me to as many ramen helpings as I want, right?" Ruriko grinned at her brother mischievously. It had been a while since she had been pampered by her brother. She wanted to enjoy this moment while it lasts. Until she returns to being Nyx's seal. 'Yes! Until that time, I have to enjoy the 'now' to the fullest.' Ruriko lowered her gaze for a while when she thought about how she would spend the rest of her life when she had defeated Nyx later. How she wished that Nyx won't descend for a long time so that she could enjoy her life as a normal girl until she do all the things that she wanted to do, then she will be very happy with being the seal again. Minato can't help but smile at his sister's childish behaviour. She can only act like that in front of Minato. He knows that she masked her feelings in front of others so as not to get too involved with other people. She learned to keep her feelings so that others won't be worried about her.

However, Minato couldn't help but notice how her expression changed to a sad one for a brief moment. 'How much suffering have you endured up until now? Please tell me. I want to know, Ruriko. I want to be your strength this time. I will always be by your side and I will make sure that you would not have to bear the burden alone because I will be your shield this time. I will surely protect you from everything. So please rely on me again.' Minato thought to himself as he silently led the group to his new apartment.


End file.
